“Why did you call them?” I snapped at Lucas. I don't have time to deal with my worried family right now. I need to find my girl, and we have no mother fucking leads. I don't have time for this bullshit.
“We needed help. We need people who know Avery. Maybe we missed something.” Lucas growled, looking pissed. “Do I need to lock you down?”
“Noone is fucking locking me down. Do you hear me? Brother or not, I will fucking beat your ass if you try.” I snarled and got into his face.
“That's enough.” My dad shouted and put his hand out, pushing me and Lucas apart. “This isn't helping, Cedric. I know your pissed son, I know your worried, but you behaving like this isn't going to fucking help.”
Damn, I have not heard my dad curse in years. “Your right. Sorry.” I whispered and rubbed my hands down my face.
I'm the best detective the station has, and right now, that means nothing. I can't do fucking anything to get my girl back.
I know nothing.
“Conor has been calling the surrounding towns to see if they have anything that could help us.” Lucas told me, his heated gaze locked on me, telling me he wasn't happy with me right now, and I don't blame him. I have been acting like an asshole since everyone arrived.
“I'm sorry. I'm just lost. I need to find Avery.” I tried to explain to my best friend how I was feeling. We never talked about our feelings. We joked around and bullshit with each other, but actually opening up and talking about feeling isn't something we three do.
“I know Ced. It's cool. Were cool.” Lucas told me and patted me on my back. That's his way of hugging me and giving me support, and I appreciate it.
“Cedric!” I heard my mom's voice shouting across the police tape line at the front door. “You let me through right now. My son is Cedric Chandler and my daughter-in-law is missing. Don't make me mad, young man.” My mom was now threatening a rookie we had watching the front door.
“Mom?” I asked, confused. How the hell did she find out? I didn't want to tell her until after I got Avery back.
“Helen? What are you doing here?” Dad asked, shocked, and that told me he didn't tell her.
“Let her through.” I sighed.
“What am I doing here? What do you think I'm doing here, Glenn? You and Cedric have been keeping secrets from me, and you know that never ends well for you both. I always find out. When Lucas called you, I pretended to me asleep, but I heard everything. How dare you keep something like this from me?” My mom shouted at my dad and then turned her momma bear gaze towards me. “And you. I'm so mad at you. That girl must have been so scared and there I was, playing board games with her when I should have been comforting her. I'm ashamed.”
“Mom, I just didn't want you and Anna to worry. Dad and I had it covered-” I tried not to lose my shit on my mother and calm her down.
“Yeah? You know better than to lie to me about someone in my family. You had no right to do that. You had no right you and your father had no right to keep me in the, dark, not when someone in my family was in danger.” She growled and shook her finger at me. “Oh, I swear if I could turn you over my knees I would.”
“Helen dear. Calm down. We are sorry. We did what, we thought, was best, but Cedric needs to focus on finding Avery, so he can bring her back to us.” My dad gently told my mom and pulled her into his arms.
Thank god for my dad.
"My best friend has been getting stalked and nobody fucking felt I deserved to know?” Anna shrieked before giving the rookie her best murdering stare. “Fucking let me in, Charlie.”
Fucking hell. I do not have time for this shit. This is why I didn't want Lucas to call my dad. I needed to focus and dealing with a pissed off mother and sister isn't helping.
None of this is helping me get my girl back.
“Let her in.” Lucas snarled. “What are you doing here, Anna? It's not safe.”
“I'm here because my best friend is fucking missing Lucas and you all have been fucking lying to me. I had to find out through my mom.” Anna hollered and gave Lucas a look full of hatred.
“Helen.” My dad sighed, but my mom raised her hand and silenced him.
“I had found out that my daughter-in-law was missing. If you think I wouldn't call my daughter to make sure she was okay, Glenn, then we going to have problems.” My mom snapped at my dad, causing him to keep his mouth shut.
“Cedric. I think I got something.” Conor shouted over the arguments of my family and ran towards us. “Jacob Ashmore. He lived in the house that Avery is now living in. The cops there said that they have one missing woman, matches the description of the ones he murdered, and looks a lot like Avery.” He paused and showed me a picture of the missing girl before continuing. “He was a suspect, but he skipped town and the police could not locate him. He was dating the woman when she went missing. Her family reported it and gave the cops his name.”
“Let's go. I think I know where to find my girl.” I growled and started walking out the front door when I heard Anna calling my name. “Anna, I don't have time for this. I need to go get Avery.”
“Be careful and please, bro, bring my best friend back.” She whispered as tears fell down her cheeks, breaking my heart further.
“I will.” I hissed and headed out of the building, hoping to god my gut was right.
Avery's P.O.V
This sick man brought me back to my own home. The only hope I have right now is that Cedric will think to come looking for me here. As soon as he opened the door to the suv when we got here, I tried running away, he ended up pressing that gun to my temple and told me that if I ran, he would blow my brain's out.
He dragged me into my bedroom and tied me down on the bed, my hands tied behind my back and my legs spread apart as he looked down at me with a crazy look in his face.
“Please just let me go.” I begged. “I didn't do anything.”
“I was coming back for you. Once I got my parents settled, I was coming back, so we could start our life together.” Jacob growled and sat on the bed near my feet.
“How could we start a life together when I don't even know you?” I cried, in those few hours of being around him, I never gave him the impression that we would ever or could ever be anything. In fact, before I met Cedric I wanted nothing to do with any man after what my ex did to me. “You don't have to do this, Jacob.”
“You didn't wait for me like you were supposed to. I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend. We were supposed to get married, Avery and you fucked that up and started fucking around with that stupid cop.” Jacob snarled and grabbed my thighs, squeezing them so hard that I cried in pain.
“Don't touch me.” I screamed and tried pulling my hands apart, but he tied the rope too tight.
“You are mine. I will fucking touch you whenever I want. I have been practicing with other women. I'm sorry if you believe I cheated on you, but I was eager to learn to please you.” He growled and slowly ran his hands closer to the top of my pants. I tried to twist my body away, wanting his hands off me.
“I'm not yours!” I shouted harshly. “I'm in love with Cedric. You can't do this. You won't get away with this. Do you hear me? Cedric will look for me, and he will find you, and he will fucking lock your insane ass up”
“I'm going to fuck you so good that you won't even think about that bastard anymore. You're going to know who you belong too. You're mine and tomorrow we are leaving and finding us a new home. Some place safe for us both to be happily in love” He said and smiled, his mood switching so fast that I couldn't even keep up.
“I will never be in love with you. You have stalked me. Taken pictures of me without me knowing. Broke into my house and scared me. I will never fucking love you sick freak.” I whispered, my voice breaking as I began to cry, wanting to be safe in Cedric's arms.
“Baby, just stop lying to yourself. You know you love me just as much as I love you.” He whispered and began crawling up my body.
“Get the fuck off me.” I screamed and twisted my body to the side, wanting him to get off me.
“Shut the fuck up! I know Chandler fucked with your head. He made you believe that he loves you, but he doesn't. I do. He can't and won't love you like I do, Avery.” Jacob moaned, unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down to my ankles and looked at my panties. “I wonder if your pussy is just as beautiful as you are .” He groaned and drew my panties down, exposing my pussy to him.
“Stop!” I shrieked, heart pounding, scared of what I knew was going to come next.
He raped those women and cut off their hair, Cedric said, and me arguing with him isn't going to help, but I can't just sit here and take it. I can't. I'm sorry Cedric, but I'm not that woman. I'd rather be dead than allow this man to do and say whatever he wanted. “Cedric loves me. Get the fuck off me. I don't want you to touch me, I don't want you to look at me.”
“He will never love you like I do, you dumb bitch.” Jacob snarled, grabbed something from his back pocket, and held the knife against my throat. “Say one more fucking thing about that asshole and I'll slit your beautiful throat. You're making me jealous, and I don't like being jealous when I already know you're mine.”
“She isn't yours, you fucking piece of shit.” Came a deep voice from somewhere in the room, and I immediately recognized that voice.” She is mine.”
It's Cedric.
Thank god he found me.
I knew he would. I knew he wouldn't give up.
“Ah, ah detective. You come any closer and I will fucking kill her. Do you hear me? If I can't have her, you can't have her either.” Jacob snapped, pressing the knife harder against my neck, making my eyes wide as I raised my head up and laid eyes on my man who's standing in the doorway looking ready to murder Jacob for the state he finds me in.
Lucas and Conor were right behind him.
“You hurt her and I will fucking kill you.” Came Cedric's deadly bitter tone. “I will fucking smile as I watch the life drain out of you.”
He can't be saying all that, he is a cop, for God's sake.
“Fuck you! She wasn't yours to take. She was mine. I saw her first. I was coming back for her, but then I saw you and her talking outside the police station. The way you looked at her fucking pissed me off, and I knew she was cheating on me," Jacob shouted, spit flying out of his mouth, making him look even crazier.
“Since the day Avery drove into this town, she was mine. My girl. You will not leave this house a free man. Take the knife off her, fucking right now.” Cedric growled, and I knew he was done playing Jacob's sick game.
“She will always be mine.” Jacob snarled and started to slowly slide the knife across my throat.
I knew I was going to die. Warm liquid dripped down my neck as I stared at Cedric's horrified face and whispered “I love you, Ced” before Jacob sliced the knife across my neck.
“No.” Cedric roared charged towards Jacob. I was having trouble breathing, my shirt feeling warm and wet as blood dripped down my collar and when I felt Jacob's body being thrown from me, my eyes closed.
“Baby? Baby? Stay with me. You're okay. Don't leave me, Avery. Please baby. Stay with me. Stay awake. Open your eyes.” Cedric begged as I felt something pressing against my neck. “Open your eyes, Avery. Please baby.” He cried before roaring, “call nine one one. Now. Tell them they better fucking hurry.”
“Love you” I grunted as something was now coming out my mouth, causing me to choke and struggle to breathe.
“Shh baby, don't talk. Save your strength, okay? I'm here, right here. I'm not leaving you. You will be okay. I love you so much, Avery. Fight this. Fight for us. Fucking fight for me, please. Don't leave me.” Cedric begged and leaned his forehead down against mine. “You can't leave me. Do you understand? I'll be a shell of a man without you. I love you so much, Avery. I won't be able to live with this.”
Before I could tell him I'd fight for us, my eyes grew heavy and everything turned into darkness.